Is this a bad time for first novels?

It has not escaped my notice that my first novel is about to be released into the worst economy since the Great Depression. Book sales are down, large publishing houses are slashing jobs, bookstores (chains and independents) around the country are closing.

 

Some of this has to do with larger trends within the publishing industry itself, yet there is no doubt that retail has fallen sharply across the board. Based on current trends, many pundits are predicting 2009 could be the worst year for bookselling ever.

 

As an unknown, unhyped author whose first novel is about to be launched into this economic freefall, I could be pretty worried. Panicked even. But I’m not.

 

When it comes to the economy, I’m really not worrying about my future book sales. What I worry about are the people who are losing their jobs and their houses and their health insurance. I work full time for a social service agency, and our food lines are getting longer and longer each month as the recession worsens. I’m worried about the growing number of kids going to school hungry.

 

Some friends have kindly suggested to me that maybe people will buy more fiction during this recession, as a means of escape.

 

Maybe. We’ll see.

I do believe in the power of storytelling, that stories are a form of human sustenance that will always endure, albeit in ever changing forms. My grandfather was born in a turf-roofed farmhouse in Iceland, where people often struggled for enough to eat, yet they never stopped telling stories and reciting poems through the long hard winters.

So I hope some readers, however many, find sustenance in my book.

And even more, I hope that we’ll be able to rebuild our economy and get food into the stomachs of hungry school kids.

 

Comments

[Colette]

Hey, it's a good time to know how to employ one's self with writing. Do you know the storybook, Frederick the Mouse? If no, find it. You will see yourself there. CG

[colleen]

icelanders will never stop reading, recession (kreppa) or not!
your book relates to icelanders & western icelanders emmigration to canada..we are all thirsty to read it!